With 30 days to go until the opening ceremony of the 4th Summer Youth Olympics, the South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) has announced the Team SA squad to compete in Dakar, Senegal from 31st October to 13th November.
The Youth Olympics are back after an eight-year hiatus due to the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2018 Games were staged in Buenos Aires, but Dakar becomes the first African city to host any Olympics or Paralympic Games.
Team SA will be represented by 46 athletes across 15 different codes in Dakar, with boys’ rugby sevens including 12 players. The other 14 sports and their representation are: archery (2), athletics (10), badminton (1), beach volleyball (2), cycling (2), fencing (1), equestrian (1), gymnastics (6), judo (1), rowing (1), skateboarding (1), swimming (4), beach wrestling (1) and triathlon (1).
In making the announcement, the acting president of SASCOC, Ms Lwandile Simelane, noted the significance of the Games. “It’s truly a historical moment in sport. The first Youth Olympics in Africa – in fact, the first International Olympic Committee event ever staged on the continent – has to be celebrated. It’s huge for Africa and Team SA is committed to playing a full part in the overall success of the event. Our young athletes will go there as proud representatives of their country, and their continent. We wish them, as well as the organisers of the Youth Olympics, every success.”
THE TEAM
Archery (2)
Boys: Benjamin Oosthuizen
Girls: Layla Viljoen
Management: Catharina Whitehead
Athletics (10)
Boys: Enrique Bosch, Matao Le Roux, Darius Botha, Jacobus van der Merwe, John-Pierre Theron
Girls: Janelle Kirkpatrick, Megan Nieman, Milan Blignaut, Shiloh Snijders, Lara Stander
Management: Regoabetswe Malope, Seef le Roux
Badminton (1)
Boys: Misha Bredell
Management: Dillan Schaap
Beach volleyball (2)
Boys: Duncan Davids, Evra King
Management: Koali Possa
Beach wrestling (1)
Girls: Duné van Zyl
Management: Dean van Zyl
Cycling (2)
Boys: Yahyaa Martin
Girls: Madison Bateson
Management: Durwan Benjamin
Fencing (1)
Girls: Nikita Venturas
Management: Alexandra Lancaster
Equestrian (1)
Girls: Bo Reed
Management: Alexander Nell
Gymnastics (6)
Girls: Zia Davids, Haylee van Rensburg, Lila du Plessis
Boys: Frederik Davies-Vaneetvelde, Gethin Davies-Vaneetvelde, Pfumelo Shibambu
SASCOC | Team South Africa
Management: Anke Badenhorst, Kevin Basson
Judo (1)
Boys: Adriaan Schutte
Management: Allerdyce Fulton
Rowing (1)
Boys: Callum Dreyer
Management: Avlyn Gallwey
Rugby Sevens (12)
Boys: Werner de Bruin, Dandre Brink, Thubelihle Marule, Corne Ferreira, James Sale, Siphesihle Marule, Darnell Delport, Rosco Williams, Divan Meyer, Jake Dave, Albert Nel, Kingsley Pule
Management: Sandile Ngcobo, Bongani Qumbu
Skateboarding (1)
Boys: Botho Losaba
Management: Sharne Jacobs
Swimming (4)
Boys: Matthew Goller, Eric Kotze
Girls: Chanel Veldsman, Leah Markgraaff
Management: Keenan Riffel
Triathlon (1)
Girls: Taylor Foster
Management: Mfanufikile Radebe
Also adding her well wishes was the CEO of SASCOC, Ms Nozipho Jafta. “These Youth Olympics have been a long time coming. Not only because it’s been an eight-year wait between Games but because it’s so significant for Africa. We have a very good relationship with Senegal, but I want to say that while we will remain firm friends off the field of play, Team SA is going to Dakar with ambitions of competing strongly and winning medals.”
In the three completed Summer Youth Olympics to date, Team SA has won 15 medals, of which six of them have been gold. Team SA has brought home a gold medal at each of the three previous
Games; occupying 39th position on the all-time medals table.
The most famous products from the Youth Olympics onto the senior international stage are swimmers Chad le Clos (2010) and Michael Houlie (2014), who both won gold at the respective Games, and went onto international stardom. Both are still competing and earned medals for Team SA at the recent 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
SASCOC previously announced 2012 London Olympics rowing gold medallist Sizwe Ndlovu as Chef de Mission (team leader) at the Dakar Games. His responsibilities will include helping to safeguard athlete welfare, strengthening team cohesion, supporting a high-performance culture and ensuring that South Africa’s young athletes are able to represent the country with pride, discipline and distinction.
PREVIOUS GAMES
2010 Singapore
2014 Nanjing
2018 Buenos Aires
TOTAL MEDALS
6 Gold
5 Silver
4 Bronze
PREVIOUS GOLD MEDALLISTS
Athletics
2010: Jacques du Plessis
2014: Gezelle Magerman
2018: Luke Davis
Swimming
2010: Chad le Clos
2018: Michael Houlie
Triathlon
2018: Amber Schlebusch